Spirit Rock spiritrock.org
news & insights jun ¡ aug 2020 1
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SPIRIT ROCK | JAN–MAY 2020
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NEWS & INSIGHTS
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s I’m writing this to you in mid-May, those of us who serve as staff and volunteers at Spirit Rock have been sheltering-in-place for almost eight weeks, ensuring you have access to the Dharma, around the region, the country, and the world. Instead of welcoming you to the land, we’re working to deliver to you, in your homes and shelters, the teachings and program offerings that will help to sustain your practice. We’ve been delighted so many of you have been willing to step across the perceived gap from on-site dharma to online Dharma — just in the last eight weeks, we’ve served over 15,000 of you — and you’ll see on the back page several of you sharing your heartfelt experience with online, at-home Dharma. It has been profound and humbling for us too — to see what’s possible to support your practice, to be inspired by your commitment to Spirit Rock, and to engage our staff and teachers in this rapid, transformative shift to be online for as long as necessary to support you here, right now.
TRUST AND TRANSFORMATION A LETTER FROM MICHELLE LATVALA Executive Director, Spirit Rock Meditation Center
In light of current conditions, we’ve decided that it is wise to publish this issue of the newsletter as a digital publication, rather than to print and mail it. Please enjoy reading through it, as it is filled with Dharma offerings, including a “The Bodhisattva Response to Coronavirus” by founding teacher, Jack Kornfield, on pages 4-5, a poignant piece on the Noble Eightfold Path by John Martin on page 6, and “Cooling the Fire with the Waters of Compassion” by Amana Brembry Johnson on pages 6-7. We’re honored to share a recap of “The Gathering II”, a historic retreat for Buddhists of Black African descent, that was held at Spirit Rock in October of 2019, on pages 10-13. For an idea on what an online retreat experience with us is like, turn to page 16. And, enjoy a wonderful recipe from our kitchen on page 17. Our creativity around our online programs is blossoming, so please visit www.spiritrock.org often for up-to-date program and retreat listings; we will gladly welcome you back to retreats on campus at whatever point that becomes pragmatically and ethically appropriate. If you’re on the fence with what to try next, join us for a Monday night Livestream, sign up for an online day retreat, make a gift to Spirit Rock, or consider following one of Jack Kornfield’s personal practices: if a generosity crosses your mind, do it. Practicing together is a generosity to self and to others, and we are here in service to you. May we join together in alleviating suffering through our practice, may all beings be free. Warmly, Warmly, Michelle Latvala, Executive Director Spirit Rock Meditation Center
PLEASE VISIT SPIRITROCK.ORG FOR PROGRAM UPDATES.
SPIRIT ROCK | JUN–AUG 2020
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THE BODHISATTVA RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS BY JACK KORNFIELD
Dear Friends, WE HAVE A CHOICE. Epidemics, like earthquakes, tornadoes, and floods, are part of the cycle of life on planet Earth. How will we respond? With greed, hatred, fear, and ignorance? This only brings more suffering. Or with generosity, clarity, steadiness, and love? This is the time for love. Time for Bodhisattvas. In Buddhist teachings, a Bodhisattva is someone who vows to alleviate suffering and brings blessings in every circumstance. A Bodhisattva chooses to live with dignity and courage and radiates compassion for all, no matter where they find themselves. This is not a metaphor. As Bodhisattvas, we are now asked to hold a certain measure of the tragedy of the world and respond with love. The Bodhisattva path is in front of us. The beautiful thing is, we can see Bodhisattvas all around. We see them singing from their balconies to those shut inside. We see them in young neighbors caring for the elders nearby, in our brave healthcare workers, and in the unheralded ones who stock the shelves of our grocery stores. As a father, if she called me, I would fly to the ends of the earth to help and protect my daughter. Now she and her firefighter/ paramedic husband and my toddler grandson await the virus. His urban fire department, like many hospitals and first responders, does not have masks. Eighty percent of their work
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is emergency medical calls and they all expect to get the virus. They will not be tested, because the department can’t afford to lose the help of too many of their firefighters. What can I do? What can we do? In this moment, we can sit quietly, take a deep breath, and acknowledge our fear and apprehension, our uncertainty and helplessness … and hold all these feelings with a compassionate heart. We can say to our feelings and uncertainty, “Thank you for trying to protect me,” and “I am OK for now.” We can put our fears in the lap of Buddha, Mother Mary, Quan Yin, and place them in the hearts of the generations of brave physicians and scientists who tended the world in former epidemics. This is a time of mystery and uncertainty. Take a breath. The veils of separation are parting, and the reality of interconnection is apparent to everyone on earth. We have needed this pause, perhaps even needed our isolation to see how much we need one another. Now it is time to add our part. The Bodhisattva deliberately turns toward suffering to serve and help those around in whatever way they can. This is the test we have been waiting for. We know how to do this. Time to renew your vow. Sit quietly again and ask your heart: What is my best intention, my most noble aspiration for this difficult time? Your heart will answer. Let this vow become your North Star. Whenever you feel lost, remember and it will remind you what matters.
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It is time to be the medicine, the uplifting music, the lamp in the darkness. Burst out with love. Be a carrier of hope. If there is a funeral, send them off with a song. Trust your dignity and goodness. Where others hoard … help. Where others deceive ... stand up for truth. Where others are overwhelmed or uncaring ... be kind and respectful.
Whenever you feel lost, remember and it will remind you what matters. It is time to be the medicine, the uplifting music, the lamp in the darkness. When you worry about your parents, your children, your beloveds, let your heart open to share in everyone’s care for their parents, their children, and their loved ones. This is the great heart of compassion. The Bodhisattva directs compassion toward everyone—those who are suffering and vulnerable and those who are causing suffering. We are in this together. It is time to reimagine a new world, to envision sharing our common humanity, to envision how we can live in the deepest most beautiful way possible. Coming through this difficulty, what we intend and nurture, we can do. In the end, remember that who you are is timeless awareness, the consciousness that was born into your body. You were born a child of the spirit, and even now you can turn toward the awareness, and become the loving awareness that witnesses yourself reading and feeling and reflecting. When a baby is born, our first response is love. When a dear one dies, the hand we hold is a gesture of love. Timeless love and awareness are who you are. Trust it. Dear Bodhisattva, the world awaits your compassionate heart. Let’s join in this great task together.
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THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH FOR THE WHOLE OF OUR LIVES BY JOHN MARTIN Spirit Rock Teachers Council Member Excerpt from a talk given at Spirit Rock one-month retreat, March 21, 2018
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ourteen years ago, I was completing a six-week retreat. Maybe two or three days before the retreat was coming to a formal end, I felt like “I can’t go back into the world. I can’t go back into the working world. I really need to devote my life fully to the Dharma.” But it really wasn’t in the cards! I had a partner (now husband) and had a job that I really did love. But I still felt I had to devote my life fully to the Dharma. My engagement was to still be in the working world. I had to bring the Dharma fully in. So I made the resolve, “I’m going to practice fully in the world,” to bring the Eightfold Path of practice into my life. And then there was kind of an “Aha!” moment. “Of course!” That’s what the teachers have been saying all along: no division between retreat practice and being in the world. I finally got it. And the Eightfold Path became the key, the fourth noble truth, which is the Eightfold Path leading to the very end of suffering. So I set this deepest intention to bring the practice of present awareness into every aspect of my life, including, and especially, my work. When I started practicing in this way, it really brought more ease and connectedness to my life. I felt less of a sharp division between retreat practice and the rest of my life, and it deepened my practice overall. The Eightfold Path is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths. The first noble truth is that there is dukkha, which is the Pāli word often translated as “suffering” but is better understood as unsatisfactoriness or
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unreliability. It is this unsatisfactoriness that is universal to the human experience, where everything is in constant flux. Old age, sickness, and death, not being able to have what we want, getting what we don’t want—all of this is unsatisfying, is dukkha.
defilements, those things that cloud the heart and mind: the forces of greed, aversion, and delusion. The deepest root of these defilements is ignorance—the ignorance that doesn’t see things as they really are.
Then there is the cause: craving, an unquenchable thirst for sense pleasure constantly occurring, underlying everything. More than just craving for sense pleasures, craving also arises for being, in the sense of existing or having a certain identity, and for non-being. This is the second noble truth, the cause of suffering.
One useful analogy is to view the defilements as being like clouds. The forces of wanting and not wanting are like clouds that cover the heart-mind. As we practice letting the light of awareness shine on the defilements when they’re present, with open receptivity, the fog of confusion begins to drop away, opening to perfect clarity, opening to love. We open to the direct realization that all we’re seeking is already here.
The third noble truth is the end of dukkha: freedom, the cessation of suffering, an unshakable peace that is the promise of the path of practice. And the fourth noble truth is that there is a path of practice, this Noble Eightfold Path that leads to the cessation of dukkha, to freedom. The Eightfold Path is often divided into three groups, or sections. The wisdom (pañña) section has right view and right intention; the ethics (sīla) section has right speech, right action, and right livelihood; and the concentration (samādhi) section has right energy, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This framework that the Buddha taught 2,600 years ago is a course of practice to support our own direct realization of the truth of the way things are. It’s not about getting anywhere, achieving anything, or attaining anything. We open to recognize, be present with, and support the diminishment of the underlying
Sharon Salzberg writes, “A mind filled with love can be likened to the sky with a variety of clouds moving through it— some light and fluffy, others ominous and threatening. No matter what the situation, the sky is not affected by clouds. It is free.” We have moments like that in our practice, when we experience a moment in time when there’s no coming or going, just present clarity. That knowing can be with us as we move through the world. There’s a deeper understanding that arises with practice that then supports us in the whole of our lives. JOHN MARTIN teaches vipassanā, mettā, and LGBTQI-themed meditation retreats. John’s spiritual path has also included volunteer service work, including over 12 years as a hospice volunteer. He completed the SRMC/IMS/IRC four-year teacher training in 2016 and now serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council.
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COOLING THE FIRE WITH THE WATERS OF COMPASSION BY AMANA BREMBRY JOHNSON Excerpt from a talk given at Spirit Rock, March 9, 2019
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ot much has changed in the trajectory of time and history. Samsāra, the circular pulse of suffering through birth, death, and rebirth, is the heartbeat of this worldly existence. It is obvious, especially in today’s world, that we live in a climate of extreme violence, unfathomable hatred, and cruelty. As technology increasingly brings the world into closer contact, intolerance sweeps the terrain like raging fire. Injustice burns through lives, destroying spaces that once were sanctuaries— sacred places of family, work, and communities of worship. These fires sear deeply into the tender expanse of the heart, leaving scars of protective woundedness. An essential part of waking up is to stay present to the suffering in the world, to courageously turn our face toward it and feel it tremble the heart. The practice of facing the fire is one that cannot be separated from the journey that leads toward liberation.
Attune to the arisings in heart and mind. Offer a moment of kind attention to the breath, and bring awareness to the sounds of the heart as you track what emerges and passes away in the landscape of your consciousness. Even now, as you read these words, offer yourself an invitation to pause and take in the fullness of this moment. Attune to the arisings in heart and mind. Offer a moment of kind attention to the breath, and bring awareness to the sounds of the heart as you track what emerges and passes away in the landscape of your consciousness. Perhaps even place a hand over your heart and one on your belly, to treasure this moment and feel into what is present right now, right here… The internal nature of our practice can make it easy to become seduced into thinking that the primary goal of the journey is to achieve personal peace, and ultimate nibbāna for ourselves. Yet when you examine well the teachings and practices of the dhamma, it becomes brilliantly clear that there is nothing at
all to be gained from this practice, nothing to acquire, nothing to consume or call our own, because ours is a practice of renunciation. It is a practice of letting go, of opening, of coming apart. This process of falling open and coming apart is not a singular activity, for we are a community in relationship with each other and all that is around us, both the seen and the unseen. When we practice in community as a sangha, we are coming apart together as we practice letting go. Our world is truly on fire. We are in desperate need of the cooling waters of compassion and care. There’s no getting around the suffering that is present. It has always been here and is truly an integral part of the fabric of our existence. Meeting the presence of suffering is where the path begins. Finding relief from the internal pain, dissatisfaction, and tender misery of life is the reason we have arrived at this juncture seeking liberation from suffering—the dukkha of the first noble truth. The path of peace and liberation is arduous. What we experience on our chairs and mats is only the practice ground. It is where we train in mindful awareness, that we may apply the insights of inner reflection to skillfully navigate our movement through the world. We practice to draw awareness to the conditioning we have normalized that contributes to the woes of this existence. We arrive in this world naked, dependent. Somewhere in the societal, cultural, familial conditioning of our lives, we become deluded into believing we are separate from others, from the Earth, and from the environment. By some sleight of hand, some illusion, we’ve become tricked into believing we are independent, solid, autonomous beings. We are encouraged to be strong in this illusion of independence. And we are rewarded with empty gifts, for our belief that acquisition of material wealth, of commodities and external objects, will bring happiness—will create a wall of safety around our lives and make us invincible. One of the things we rediscover as we travel this path is the tenderness we arrived with when we entered this worldly plane. We are waking up to reclaim the innate goodness that is our Continued on next page >
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birthright. In this process of awakening, we are gaining the discernment of wisdom. This practice activates a memory of how to be naked in this world with each other. We get to learn again how to be naked of shame, naked of blame and judgment, naked of embarrassment and fear. Each and every one of us is a small measure of the contents of this relational world. We, as humans, are essential building blocks in the matrix of life. We are not simply looking out into the world—we are the world. The quality of all life is determined by how we treat ourselves and each other, how we care for each other, and how we consider all living beings. It is the quality of the contents of our hearts that determines whether we contribute to the very circumstances that cause pain, or whether we will actually effect some shift and movement toward something kinder and more equitable.
An essential part of waking up is to stay present to the suffering in the world, to courageously
It is a fierce heart that can withstand the emotional challenges that accompany opening to tenderness and compassion in the face of adversity. It involves a willingness to feel pain and not push it away. Compassion cannot exist without lovingkindness. Love, kindness, and caring are intricately intertwined. They weave into, around, and through each other to create a tender, relational tapestry. Nor can compassion exist without suffering. For without suffering there would be nothing to turn compassion toward. The paradox is that the suffering in the world offers us the gift of feeling deeply and opening us to profound love. Ours is a relational practice. Every aspect of our practice is to awaken for the benefit of all beings. Compassion allows us to stand in the fire of our lives. It prevents us from being indifferent—which is the near opposite of equanimity, and offers us the courage and confidence to act in the world in a way that at minimum does not contribute to suffering, and at best works to end suffering in the world.
turn our face toward it and feel it tremble the heart. The practice of facing the fire is one that cannot be separated from the journey that leads toward liberation. There are four unburdening practices, known as the heavenly abodes, that when practiced offer kindness, compassion, joy, and balance toward ourselves and others. When fully practiced, no one and nothing goes untouched by these beautiful qualities. These mind states, also known as the brahma-vihāras, are the superheroes of our practice. Mettā is a loving-kindness or friendliness practice. Karunā, translated as compassion, is the compassion that turns toward suffering with tenderness and care. It is not a passive attribute by any means. Karunā offers the courage to command full agency to act toward obliterating harm and distress with wisdom and skillfulness. Muditā, sometimes called sympathetic or empathetic joy, is the mind state that enhances one’s personal joy by sharing in and borrowing the joy of others. Upekkhā is the equanimity that strengthens one’s capacity to hold both 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows in equal balance, free of compulsion or reaction. These four brahmavihāra practices offer roadmaps that lead to the blossoming of the heart. These four heavenly abodes weave themselves together in the mind-heart to create a tapestry of kindness, caring, happiness, and balance.
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AMANA BREMBRY JOHNSON is a spiritual teacher, mentor, and embodiment guide whose offerings are rooted in opening access to liberation teachings and practices for diverse communities. As a spiritual mentor, Amana nurtures practitioners who wish to deepen and integrate meditation into daily life. An accomplished visual artist, Amana creates imagery that exposes emotional and spiritual barriers of the heart as gateways into kindness, compassion, and self-love.
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NEWS & INSIGHTS
LET’S CONNECT IN COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW… JOIN OUR PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN WEEKLY AND MONTHLY DROP-IN PROGRAMS AT SPIRIT ROCK We miss seeing you! In response to COVID-19, we have shifted all our programs to an online format and encourage you to explore our online retreats, classes and special events at spiritrock.org. The future remains uncertain, that is why we need the support of sangha as we care for ourselves and one another in this constantly changing world. Please join our pay-what-you-can weekly and monthly drop-in classes for regular community connection. These programs are offered on a sliding scale basis from $0–$108.
MONDAY NIGHT DHARMA TALKS | 7:15–9:15 P.M.
THURSDAY WOMEN'S GROUP | 10 A.M.–NOON
JACK KORNFIELD AND FRIENDS
GRACE FISHER AND OTHERS
Now in its 35th year, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit
A place for self-identified women to come together, to share
Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings
wisdom, and to strengthen a sense of belonging in the world.
of the Buddha, and practice insight meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 minute guided meditation, a short break, and a dharma talk.
WEDNESDAY MORNING MEDITATION GROUP 10 A.M.–NOON SYLVIA BOORSTEIN, DONALD ROTHBERG, AND OTHERS A sitting-and-practice-oriented discussion group, suitable for new and experienced practitioners.
DHARMA AND RECOVERY GROUP | 7:15–9:15 P.M. 2nd Friday of Every Month KEVIN GRIFFIN AND OTHERS This group explores the intersection of recovery with Buddhist teachings and practices. All who identify with any of the full range of addictions, including substances, behaviors, and habitual thought and emotional patterns, are welcome.
GENEROSITY AND CARE When you join us for a program online, please consider paying at the highest level you are able to, in support of Spirit Rock, our incredible staff, and our dedicated sangha. We are all in this together. If you’re able to offer additional support, we thank you for your generosity, visit spiritrock.org/communitygiving.
VISIT SPIRITROCK.ORG/DROP-IN-CLASSES FOR MORE INFO AND TO SIGN UP. SPIRIT ROCK | JUN–AUG 2020
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NEWS & INSIGHTS
NEWS & INSIGHTS
PHOTOS JJ HARRIS / TECHBOOGIE MEDIA
REFLECTIONS ON
THE GATHERING II AT SPIRIT ROCK OCTOBER 2019 BY KONDA MASON
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ne of the things that I walk away from "The Gathering II" with is the importance of the spaces that we create. Sometimes I hear white people from the dominant culture, especially those who are inclined toward spiritual awakening, voice their lack of understanding of why groups of people who the society has marginalized have the need or desire to create affinity spaces. They tend to ask the question, “Aren’t we just all one?” The dominant culture has the luxury of always being in an affinity group! If we were to reverse the history of this country, so that folks who recognize themselves as white people experienced racial oppression and were a minority (as the country will be by 2040), they would probably be very interested in having spaces where they come together and support one another. It’s hard to even describe honestly how empowering these spaces are—to be in sangha like this, where we have a
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common lived experience of reality. This is important particularly for those who are in marginalized groups—to reflect back our experiences with each other and find a wise and compassionate way forward that will lead us to personal and collective liberation. As cross-lineage Dharma teachers and practitioners of Black African descent gathering together, we connected intimately with one another in the specific shared experience of being both Black and Buddhist. We shared our experiences within our varied Buddhist lineages and highlighted the importance of the roles we play within our communities to help frame a liberatory path forward in these very troubled and racialized times. Making spaces like this is really about being able to hold what’s called in Buddhism the “two truths”: the relative and the universal. It is in the relative world that humans have created the hierarchical structures of dominant and marginalized groups of people. And it is in the universal that this binary of
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PHOTOS JJ HARRIS / TECHBOOGIE MEDIA
For me [The Gathering] reaffirmed the necessity of spaces that are particular to peoples. We that are emerging inside of contexts that compel us to function, perform, and present ourselves according to norms that are outside of our own traditions, cultures, and ways, know how important it is to have space that is uniquely ours. And we hold on to what happened in that space in a way that’s not about withholding from anyone else but allowing ourselves to really drink in and integrate our own experience. —Rev. angel Kyodo williams
separation disappears. I believe this is not a linear concept, but that both of these truths exist simultaneously. The universal exists in the relative and the relative exists in the universal. We talk about them as if they’re separated because that’s how speech works, but they’re happening at the same time. Our language is limited, and our ability to hold two opposites at the same time is limited. So we think either/or, but the relative and the universal are always happening at the same time. It’s important for us to be able to hold the paradox. Because when we reach for the universal to justify experiences in the relative, what we’re actually doing is what we call “spiritual bypass.” Developing the capacity to hold this paradox, and work toward eliminating the suffering that both individuals and groups of people experience in the relative world while maintaining a balanced loving presence that is foundational from the universal truth, is what the teaching is asking of us. The ripple effects of "The Gathering II" are still unfolding. We’re online with each other, emails are flying around, groups are forming. We’re working with each other and learning from each other. The aftermath is beautiful, and just what we hoped for!
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NEWS & INSIGHTS
It’s so important to bring our authenticity and our ancestral connections into the Buddhadharma. —Joshua Alafia
As we came together for this monumental gathering, Black Buddhists from around the globe joined in an exploration of deep learning about our true essence, resilience, and strength. It was a transformational experience. —Noliwe Alexander
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NEWS & INSIGHTS
We know the Dharma has been in the US for over 50 years. And we have managed to bypass quite significantly the truth of race as a social construct and its impact on us, including its impact on our ability to apprehend liberation; our ability to navigate suffering and to have a sense of care, compassion, and connection for people in brown, black, and indigenous bodies. The suffering that they experience is distinct, and it is made distinct by one’s identification with the social construct, or one’s location inside that social contract, whether you’re identifying with it or not. —Rev. angel Kyodo williams
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an invitation to practice: generosity and metta
This May, Radiate Metta! During the month of May at Spirit Rock, we shift our focus to mettā—the heart quality of goodwill and radical kindness. Together, we practice mettā for ourselves and for others, as the Buddha says in the Mettā Sutta, “omitting none.” Through our practice, we water the seeds of our own innate kindness, which can benefit us all. As we care for ourselves and our community throughout this global health emergency, we have the opportunity to turn our minds toward compassion and our interdependence becomes ever more clear. Even as a mother protects with her life, Her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart Should one cherish all living beings; Radiating kindness over the entire world. —Mettā Sutta
LOVE NOTES FROM OUR DONORS Spirit Rock has been the source of SO much peace, heartopening insight, and wisdom for me; it’s like a second home—a wonderfully grounding and connecting place and time in my life, and it feels great to be able to give a little so another may experience the peace and insight that can be so present there. And I carry the lessons I’ve learned there with me daily. One by one we can help create a better world! Thanks for all that you do!—Terry It was such a pleasure to pass on what has been given to me by my attendance at Spirit Rock Retreats. I hope to always be able to pay it forward. Many blessings to you, Joan It is always a pleasure to contribute to Spirit Rock. The work you are doing is critical to the planet.—John I am deeply grateful to you for what I learned last year at the silent retreat. It continues to reverberate, and I look forward to contributing more to Spirit Rock.—Bill
WAYS TO MAKE AN OFFERING Stewardship Circle: Consider joining our Stewardship Circle by offering a monthly gift of $25 or more. Members receive online Dharma talks, livestreams, articles, and other content to support your practice. Visit: spiritrock.org/stewardshipcircle-welcome.
Donor-Advised Fund: A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) allows you to grow your contribution tax-free and immediately receive the maximum tax deduction that the IRS allows. Legacy Gift: Plan for the future with Spirit Rock in mind. Leaving a gift
Sure Heart Sangha: We invite you to join this community of benefactors with an annual gift of $1,000 or more. James Baraz and Kate Munding offer Dharma teachings and other special practice opportunities. Visit: spiritrock.org/giving/sureheart.
in your estate is a powerful way to demonstrate your love. We invite you to consider naming Spirit Rock as a beneficiary in your will. Have a question or want to explore ways to make an offering? Visit our website, spiritrock.org/donate; call Rachel Uris at 415.488.0164 x
Give a Gift of Stock or IRA Distribution: Offering a gift of stock or a Required Minimum Distribution from an IRA might be an excellent option for giving because you can offer support to Spirit Rock and lower your taxable income.
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286; or email sangha@spiritrock.org. Spirit Rock is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, tax ID #94-2971001.
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ORIENTING OURSELVES: METTA MAY CONVERSATIONS WITH FOUNDING TEACHERS A BENEFIT SERIES FOR SPIRIT ROCK | 4 THURSDAYS: 5:00 P.M. PST 8:00 P.M. EST
May 7, 2020 Sharon Salzberg
May 14, 2020 Sylvia Boorstein
May 21, 2020 Jack Kornfield
May 28, 2020 Joseph Goldstein
4 THURSDAYS. 4 CONVERSATIONS. NAVIGATING THIS NEW, UNFOLDING WORLD, TOGETHER. NOTE: All four “Conversations” will be Livestreamed and the recording will be available for viewing up to 90 days from the date of the first talk on May 7th. Registration is open for the series package until midnight (PST) May 28th. Join us in experiencing the teachings of Sharon Salzberg, Sylvia Boorstein, Jack Kornfield, and Joseph Goldstein, founding teachers of Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock. This evening series during Metta May includes Dharma offerings and a moderated conversation hosted by Spirit Rock Executive Director Michelle Latvala. Sharon, Sylvia, Jack, and Joseph will offer reflections and practices for remembering the wisdom of our hearts, reconnecting with our community, and reorienting to our sources of refuge. Sliding Scale–Series Package: $75–$1008. Code MA5B20.
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MY HOME IS MY TEMPLE: THE BEAUTY OF ONLINE RETREAT
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t first glance, doing a retreat at home, interacting with the teachers and community only online, may not seem like a “retreat” at all. For many of us, the thing that defines retreat is being somewhere other than at home! At Spirit Rock, the beauty of the land, the artfulness of the kitchen, and the stillness you can feel just stepping into the Main Hall are all part of what makes retreat so nourishing. People have always gone to nature, and to centers, temples, and monasteries away from the bustle of the city, to devote themselves wholeheartedly to spiritual practice. So what is “home retreat”? Home retreat is clearly not the same as a retreat on the Spirit Rock land and perhaps is best thought of as an entirely distinct practice. Home retreat shares core qualities with residential retreats, like the intention to devote ourselves fully to mindfulness and loving-kindness. But there’s one big difference: other people! When you’re on retreat at Spirit Rock, one of our primary intentions is to protect the retreat space. We use noble silence, the precepts, and the rhythms of communal practice to create the conditions for concentration and insight. In this protected space, practitioners can go inward, become vulnerable, and devote themselves to practice mostly uninterrupted by logistical or interpersonal contact. The very definition of retreat may be something like protected space for spiritual practice. At home, there may be people around who are not “on retreat,” like family, housemates, or children. And the temptation to engage “just a little bit” with the ceaseless flow of email, news, and messages can be very strong. Because of this, one of the most important practices for home retreat is to create protected space. Sharing a retreat schedule with the people you live with can help, finding ways to maintain silence as much as possible, such as putting your devices away except when using them to participate in the retreat calls or making a small altar with spiritual images, items from nature, or photos of ancestors. A few simple structures like these can transform your home into sacred space—or remind you that it always was.
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What’s a day on home retreat like? We wake up in the morning and remember that we're on retreat. Maybe we sit first thing, or just move with more presence than usual through our morning routine, making breakfast, cleaning up. We join the community for morning practice. Engaging mindfully with the screen takes practice, of course. But so does sitting in a room with 90 strangers! We hear the voices of the teachers as we meditate, receiving the waves of breath, feeling, and thought as they come, returning again and again to the body, growing in kindness and patience. This is retreat, same as ever. Through the day there are times when we interact with the community online, but most of the time we’re on our own, just like on any retreat. We deal with the hindrances, come in and out of focus, and find that no matter what's happening, how skillfully we respond is all that matters. We cook a meal, do eating meditation, and clean up as if all of it is work meditation, and try to do all of it in the spirit of retreat: quietly, without rushing, fully present. And if there are people around, maybe we find that the smile or the few words we share have a sweetness or poignancy to them, which we wouldn’t have felt if we were on a more secluded retreat. To give ourselves fully to practice at home is to bring the messiness of the home onto retreat with us, but it is also to turn the home into a temple. We talk a lot in this tradition about mindfulness in daily life. Well, if there were ever a time for bringing mindfulness and loving-kindness into daily life, this is it! We’re grateful to be able to offer this beautiful practice of home retreat, in service of well-being in this time of crisis, for each of us, and for all beings everywhere.
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DEEP BOWS FROM THE KITCHEN A SUMMERTIME RECIPE
SALADE NIÇOISE INGREDIENTS: 1 lb. small potatoes (red or fingerling), halved ½ lb. green beans ½ red onion, thinly sliced and soaked in cool water, then drained ½ basket mixed cherry tomatoes, halved 4 hardboiled eggs, peeled and halved 1 large red pepper, roasted, peeled, and seeded 1 jar artichoke hearts ¼ c Niçoise or Kalamata olives Several handfuls mixed lettuce, including arugula Chopped fresh parsley and oregano DRESSING: 1½ T whole-grain Dijon mustard 5 T white wine vinegar ½ t dried thyme or 1 T fresh thyme ¾ c olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1. To make the dressing, combine all dressing ingredients besides oil in a bowl or blender. Whisk or blend, and drizzle olive oil to emulsify. Season to taste, and set aside. 2. Blanch potatoes and green beans, separately, until tender. 3. Lightly toss lettuces with vinaigrette and spread out on a platter. 4. Toss green beans and potatoes with vinaigrette. 5. Arrange all components on the bed of greens. Sprinkle with fresh herbs to finish and serve.
Spirit Rock News | Jun–Aug 2020 © 2020 Spirit Rock Meditation Center Published by Spirit Rock Meditation Center
P.O. Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973 | (415) 488-0164 Design & Photography | Stacy Evett-Miller Photography | TwoIrises.com, Techboogie Media
the spirit rock teachers council AYYA ANANDABODHI has practiced meditation since 1989
DANA DEPALMA has practiced insight meditation since 1993.
and lived in Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries in the UK for 18 years. In 2009, she moved to the US to help establish Aloka Vihara, a training monastery for women, where she now resides.
She holds a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is a co-guiding teacher and director of faculty at Spirit Rock.
GUY ARMSTRONG has been practicing insight meditation
ANNA DOUGLAS has a background in psychology and art,
for more than 30 years and began teaching in 1984. He spent a year as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Guy is a Guiding Teacher of Insight Meditation Society (IMS). He is author of Emptiness: A Practical Guide for Meditators.
in addition to more than 25 years of vipassana practice. She has also studied with teachers in the Zen, Advaita, and Dzogchen traditions.
SALLY ARMSTRONG is a Spirit Rock co-guiding teacher. She
BONNIE DURAN met the dharma in 1982. She teaches long
has served Spirit Rock in a number of roles, including on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and Board of Directors, and as co-founder and co-teacher of the Dedicated Practitioners Program. She has taught since 1996.
and short retreats and is a core teacher for advanced programs at IMS and SRMC. She is a professor of social work and public health at the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute at the University of Washington.
JAMES BARAZ is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock and serves
ANDREA FELLA has practiced insight meditation since 1996
on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He started the Community Dharma Leaders program and the Kalyana Mitta Network. James has taught the Awakening Joy online course since 2003 and is an advisor to One Earth Sangha, which focuses on Buddhist responses to climate change.
and began teaching in 2003. She teaches at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA, and around the US.
SYLVIA BOORSTEIN has been teaching since 1985 and teaches
ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE has trained for over 25 years
both vipassana and metta meditation. Her many books include That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist and Happiness Is an Inside Job.
in Buddhist meditation in the US, India, and Sri Lanka, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. Anushka also works as a leadership coach and management consultant, and lives in San Francisco, where she leads Monday Night Dharma.
MATTHEW BRENSILVER, PhD, began in the Tibetan tradition and has studied with Shinzen Young since 2003. An SRMC/IMS/ IRC Teacher Training Program graduate, he serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He teaches about the intersection of mindfulness and mental health at UCLA’s MARC and with Mindful Schools.
GIL FRONSDAL has practiced Zen and vipassana since 1975 and
EUGENE CASH is a founding teacher of San Francisco Insight.
JOANNA HARDY has been exploring and practicing multiple
He is also the co-founder and co-teacher of the Dedicated Practitioners Program. In addition, he teaches the Diamond Approach® in San Francisco and Holland.
traditions since 1999. In 2005, her focus landed on vipassana. Teaching in communities that don’t typically have access to the traditional dharma settings and building inclusive community are top on her list of priorities.
DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR has been leading retreats
SUSIE HARRINGTON teaches meditation nationwide and
since 1978. In addition to practicing vipassana, she has been influenced by Dzogchen and Diamond Heart®. She also leads workshops on embodiment of awareness and conscious relationships.
is the guiding teacher for Desert Dharma, which serves many communities in the Southwest near her home in Moab, UT. She is a graduate of the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.
HOWARD COHN, MA, serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers
WILL KABAT-ZINN has practiced insight meditation for more
Council and has taught vipassana retreats since 1985. He has studied with teachers of several traditions, including Theravada, Zen, and Dzogchen, and has been strongly influenced by H.W.L. Poonja. Howard has led the Mission Dharma sangha for 30 years and is the author of Invitation to Meditation.
MARK COLEMAN, MA, has been teaching insight meditation retreats since 1997. He also leads wilderness meditation retreats, integrating mindfulness meditation with nature, and is the author of Awake in the Wild and Make Peace with Your Mind.
ANNE CUSHMAN is a graduate of the SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program. She’s the author of Moving into Meditation and the novel Enlightenment for Idiots.
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holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He is the founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA, and author of a translation of The Dhammapada.
than 15 years and has been teaching since 2007. He lives in the East Bay with his wife and two children and leads a weekly sitting group on Sunday evenings in Berkeley.
RUTH KING serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and teaches nationwide. She is an emotional wisdom author and life coach, and is the author of several publications, including Healing Rage: Women Making Inner Peace Possible and Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out.
KITTISARO, a Rhodes Scholar, trained in the Forest School
of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho, and has practiced Chan and Kuan Yin Dharmas for 35 years. He helped found Buddhist monasteries and meditation centers in the UK, South Africa, and California. He co-authored Listening to the Heart: A Contemplative Journey to Engaged Buddhism.
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JACK KORNFIELD trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, India,
OREN JAY SOFER holds a degree in comparative religion
and Burma and holds a PhD in clinical psychology. He has taught meditation since 1974 and is a founding teacher of IMS and Spirit Rock. His books include A Path with Heart, The Wise Heart, and No Time Like the Present.
from Columbia University, is trained in Somatic Experiencing™ and Nonviolent Communication, and is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He is the founder of Next Step Dharma and author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication.
BRIAN LESAGE has taught meditation since 2000. He has
TEMPEL SMITH has been practicing metta and insight
studied in the Zen, Theravada, and Tibetan schools of Buddhism. He was ordained in the Rinzai Zen tradition in 1996.
meditation since 1989, including a year as a fully ordained monk in Burma. He graduated from the Teacher Training program led by Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock, is a core teacher in the Dedicated Practitioners Program, and has been leading retreats for more than 10 years.
JOHN MARTIN teaches vipassana, metta, and LGBTQI-
HEATHER SUNDBERG has taught insight meditation since
themed meditation retreats. He leads an ongoing Monday evening meditation group in San Francisco. John has had a dedicated practice while being engaged in the working world and emphasizes practice for daily life. He serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council.
NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, PhD, studied jhānas and vipassana
with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who instructed her to teach. She is a Stanford-trained compassion cultivation instructor, and a UCLAtrained mindfulness facilitator, and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and Board of Directors. She was previously incarnated as an artificial intelligence scientist.
PHILLIP MOFFITT has practiced vipassana since 1983. He is founder and president of the Life Balance Institute. He is the author of Dancing with Life, Emotional Chaos to Clarity, and Awakening Through the Nine Bodies.
1999, has completed Senior Teacher Training, and is a member of the SRMC Teachers Council. She is a teacher for Mountain Stream Meditation Center in Nevada City, CA. Her teaching emphasizes Embodiment, Heart Practices, and Awareness Practices inspired by the Thai Forest Tradition.
THANISSARA, MA, trained as a Buddhist monastic in the Forest School of Ajahn Chah for 12 years. She is co-founder, with Kittisaro, of Dharmagiri Retreat in South Africa, Chattanooga Insight TN, and Sacred Mountain Sangha CA. Her latest book is Time to Stand Up: An Engaged Buddhist Manifesto for Our Earth.
ERIN TREAT has practiced Buddhist meditation for 20 years
and completed the SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program. She is the Guiding Teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center and teaches at the Durango Dharma Center. Erin is influenced by her love of wild nature, Diamond Approach® training, and decades of somatics and bodyworker experience.
KATE MUNDING serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council
SPRING WASHAM has practiced meditation since 1997.
and is a guiding teacher for the Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley. She has practiced meditation since 2004 and is the founder of Heart-Mind Education, providing mindfulness-based education programs and trainings to students and the adults in their lives.
She is a founding teacher of the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, CA, and author of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment. She is a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based healing practices into diverse communities.
WES “SCOOP” NISKER serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and is a meditation teacher, author, radio commentator, and performer. His books include Essential Crazy Wisdom and Crazy Wisdom Saves the World Again!
SHARDA ROGELL began teaching insight meditation in 1985. She brings a strong emphasis to awakening heartfulness and has been influenced by non-dual teachings, Dzogchen, and the Diamond Approach®.
PAMELA WEISS has practiced in the Zen and Theravada
traditions since 1987. She is an executive coach and the founder of Appropriate Response, bringing Buddhist principles and practices to leadership and organizations. Pamela leads a weekly meditation group at San Francisco Insight and co-leads the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader program.
LILA KATE WHEELER is a writer and teaches and practices in the vipassana and Tibetan Nyingma Buddhist lineages. She is a coleader of the Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program.
DARA WILLIAMS has practiced vipassana meditation for DONALD ROTHBERG, PhD, has practiced meditation since 1976 and is the guiding teacher for the Path of Engagement program. Donald co-teaches the Wednesday morning class at Spirit Rock and is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life.
ERIN SELOVER teaches mindfulness-based classes throughout the San Francisco Bay Area in schools, mental health settings, and the private sector. She is a psychotherapist and a graduate of the SRMC/IMS/IRC Teacher Training Program.
GINA SHARPE is co-founder and guiding teacher of New York Insight Meditation Center. She has been teaching the Dharma since 1995 and is particularly inspired by the potential and application of Dharma to transform and illuminate interpersonal and multicultural relations.
25 years. She serves as an IMS Guiding Teacher and is a core teacher in the 2017/2021 IMS Teacher Training Program. She is a coordinating trainer for Indigenous Focusing Oriented Trauma Therapy (IFOT) and has a private psychotherapy practice in NY.
DIANA WINSTON is the director of Mindfulness Education at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center and serves on the Spirit Rock Teachers Council. She has practiced vipassana since 1989, including a year as a Buddhist nun in Burma, and is the author of Fully Present and Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens.
LARRY YANG is a longtime meditator trained as a psychotherapist. He is interested in creating access to the Dharma for communities who have felt the experience of exclusion or difference. Larry is a teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. He is the author of Awakening Together.
SPIRIT ROCK | JUN–AUG 2020
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Spirit Rock
An Insight Meditation Center
5000 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard P.O. Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973
spiritrock.org
WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE JOIN FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD COME TOGETHER AS A TRULY GLOBAL ONLINE SANGHA...
i felt grounded and remembered what is real for the first time in weeks. i am so grateful. #TOGETHER A LONE2020
THANK YOU
warmth and solidarity from the lands of the caribbean, the andes, and the amazon!
i am so grateful for this online sit; it allows so many of us from far away to join in.
Spirit Rock for this offering. I live far away and
have wanted to do a retreat in person for a long time. I am now able to participate in this way.
What a beautiful, loving group of humans!